Bits of history found everywhere in old Bank Building

There's a lot of history at the Four Corners in Middletown where Main and Broad Streets intersect.

Kim Manahan

There's a lot of history at the Four Corners in Middletown where Main and Broad Streets intersect.

The first four buildings to ever be built in town sit there – one of them being the almost 100-year-old bank building at 1 West Main St.

Mike and Dawn Morris are planning on refurbishing the old building and turning it into a music venue, but they want to keep as much history preserved as possible.

The old Delaware Trust Building was erected in 1918 and expanded on in the 1960's.

Before being bought out by Welles Fargo, a Wachovia Bank occupied the building until about 12 years ago.

Since then, 1 West Main St. has been vacant.

In 2005 a realtor purchased it.

On the inside though, there are several things that will bring you back 90 years.

Behind the dry wall put up over the past few decades are the original brick used to build the bank, which the Morris' plan on showcasing in their venue.

In the spirit of the original safety deposit vault in the basement, the couple wants to call their club, "The Vault."

A second vault is on the main floor, with a steel door weighing 5 tons, which they will use as cold storage.

Just to the right, past where the bar will be built, the floors still reflect the seats where the tellers once sat. A few layers below the flooring, is the original boards from 1918, which Morris wants to reuse in their venue.

In the original vault from 1918, there are pieces of Middletown's past.

A giant ledger book from the 1930's was found, with names of people who probably are residents' grandparents or great-grandparents, and the amount of money they took out.

On another shelf, Morris found an old check and a few deposit envelopes, all with script writing – the ink fading away.

The old steel door on the vault is still intact, and the Morris' want to bring it upstairs from the basement so that everyone can see it.

The almost 100-year-old safety deposit boxes were also still in the old bank, and the Morris' are thinking about giving them out the night they open.

"We want to share the history here with other people," Mike Morris said.

Some of the little black boxes still have numbers etched into their fronts.

The original arched windows that over look Main and Broad Streets are still there, and Morris wants to restore them.